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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Browsing Gets Me In Trouble

Like so many other bookworms, browsing a bookstore can be a dangerous experience. Most certainly dangerous to the pocket book. While I haven't bought these latest finds YET, I suspect I'll get my hands on them one way or another. When I was out this weekend, these are the latest beauties that caught my eye and flew onto my wishlist.

Smut: Stories by Alan Bennett, author of The Uncommon Reader - I haven't read The Uncommon Reader just yet, but I'm no stranger to the buzz! It looks great, as does Smut.

Blurb: One of England's finest and most loved writers explores the uncomfortable and tragicomic gap between peoples public appearance and their private desires in two tender and surprising stories. In The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson, a recently bereaved widow finds interesting ways to supplement her income by performing as a patient for medical students, and renting out her spare room. Quiet, middle-class, and middle-aged, Mrs. Donaldson will soon discover that she rather enjoys role-play at the hospital, and the irregular and startling entertainment provided by her tenants. In The Shielding of Mrs. Forbes, a disappointed middle-aged mother dotes on her only son, Graham, who believes he must shield her from the truth. As Grahams double life becomes increasingly complicated, we realize how little he understands, not only of his own desires but also those of his mother.

I have seenRose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor by Rosina Harrison around the blogosphere here and there. While I'm not terribly familiar with Lady Astor, I wouldn't mind doing my homework and diving headlong into this one.

Blurb: In 1928, Rosina Harrison arrived at the illustrious household of the Astor family to take up her new position as personal maid to the infamously temperamental Lady Nancy Astor, who sat in Parliament, entertained royalty, and traveled the world. "She's not a lady as you would understand a lady" was the butler's ominous warning. But what no one expected was that the iron-willed Lady Astor was about to meet her match in the no-nonsense, whip-smart girl from the country.

Last, but certainly not least, is A Mountain of Crumbs: A Memoir by Elena Gorokhova. It looks like I might be a'craving non-fiction. It has been a while since I've read any, and I'm looking forward to this one. I would love to know more about experiences in Russia, and this memoir looks enthralling. Plus, I want to pet the cover. So pretty!

Blurb: Elena Gorokhovas A Mountain of Crumbs is the moving story of a Soviet girl who discovers the truths adults are hiding from her and the lies her homeland lives by. Elenas country is no longer the majestic Russia of literature or the tsars, but a nation struggling to retain its power and its pride. Born with a desire to explore the world beyond her borders, Elena finds her passion in the complexity of the English language—but in the Soviet Union of the 1960s such a passion verges on the subversive. Elena is controlled by the state the same way she is controlled by her mother, a mirror image of her motherland: overbearing, protective, difficult to leave. In the battle between a strong-willed daughter and her authoritarian mother, the daughter, in the end, must break free and leave in order to survive.

I'm adding Rose and A Mountain of Crumbs to the ole leaning tower of WishList...it's not only dangerous for me to browse bookstores; it's just as dangerous it seems for me to read other booklovers' blogs. ;)

my new years resolution is to cut back on the book buying. i probably have over 100 books on my tbr including the uncommon reader so i've been quite proud of myself by not stepping into any bookstore so far this year. of course with so many blogging friends, its hard for my wishlist not to grow!